Outboard motor



July 3, 1923.

W. F. A. BUEHNER OUTBOARD MOTOR Original Filed Aug.

31 1921 .2 Sheets-Sheet l WmuAM F. A.BUE H HER.

July 3, 1923.

W. F. A. BUEHNER A OUTBOARD MOTOR Original Filed Aug. 31. 192i 2Sheets-She WtLLlAM EA.BUEHNE.R.

Patented July 3, 1923.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM F. A. BUEHNER, 0E DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

OUTBOARD MOTOR.

Application filed August 31. 1921, Serial No. 497,101.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM I. A. Brrrr NER, a citizen of the UnitedStates of Amer ica, residing at Detroit, in the county of Vayne andState of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOutboard Motors, of which the following is a. specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The primary object of my invention is to provide novel supporting meansfor an outboard mot-or for a boat propeller so that the motor orpropeller may yield when encountering obstacles thereby preventing themotor and its propeller or the supporting means of the motor from beingbroken or injured.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tiltable outboard motorand positive and reliable means for holding the tiltahlc motor in anoperative position. also in a position to which it may be tilted,particularly when encountering an obstacle.

A further object of this invention is to furnish an outboard motor witha novel steering mechanism l) which a rudder may be adjusted. thesteering mechanism including a rotatable member. in contradistinctiop toa tiller, and the location of the rotatable member is such as not tooccupy valuable space in a boat and permit of the operator of a boateasily and quickly operating the rudder thereof.

A still further object of this invention is to provide certainimprovements in conned tion with an outboard or row boat motor hich Willrender such motor more practical and afford a wider range of boattravel, in somuch that waters may be traveled with the assurance thatthe, motor will not be fouled by running aground or encounteringobstructions.

The improvements which I have devised will be hereinafter described andthen claimed, and reference will now be had to the drawings, Wherein-Figure 1 is a side elevation of an outboard motor in accordance Withthis invention:

Fig. 2 is a. front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a yieldable interlockingmember forming part of the motor support, and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showthe steering mechanism.

11 order that my improvement may be easily understood, l haveillustrated a coin ventional form of outboard motor or engine RenewedMay 7, 1923.

1 having a crank case 2 and a depending connection 3 to a combinedpropeller housing 4 and rudder support or propeller guard 5, thepropeller housing 4 supporting a propeller 6 which is operated from themotor 1 through the depending connection 3. On the sup port 5 is pivoteda rudder 7 having a rudder post or shaft 8 in parallelism with thedepending connection 3 and ordinarily the rudder post 8 is operated by atiller or tiller mechanism My first improvement is a novel support forthe outboard motor which will permit of the. motor tilting or thepropeller housing 4 yielding rearwardly when encountering Wreckage or anobstacle. The support includes a boat bracket having clamping arms 9adapted to be held relative to a boat by clampin screws 10 or otherfastening means. Mounted in th outer end of the bracket arms 9 is ashaft 10 having one end thereof supported by one of the arms and theopposite end thereof extending into a reciprocable interlocking member11 slidable in the other arm.

Adjustable on the shaft 10 is a motor bracket comprising arms 11suitably attached to the crank case 2 of the motor 1 and said arms areintegral with an angularly disposed V-shaped frame 12 having its lowerend clamped to the depending connection 3 and affording a guide for therudder post 8, as shown in Fig. 1.

At the juncture of the frame 12 with the arms 11 are heads 13 and 14loose on the shaft 10 and held against lateral displace ment by collars15". The head 14 serves as an interlocking member and has its outer faceserrated, toothed or notched, so as to be engaged by a similarlyserrated head 15 forming part of the interlocking member 11, and acoiled expansion spring 16 encircles the member 11, between the head 15and oneof the arms 9 to hold the heads or interlocking members 14 and 15in engagement with each other. These interlocking members constitute ayieldable 'oint between the motor and boat brackets y which the motorbracket may be held in adjusted positions relative to the boat bracket,the normal position of the motor bracket being in a vertical plane andby virtue of the yieldable joint the motor bracket may tilt relative tothe boat bracket. so that the lower portion of the motor may swingrearwardly should the propeller housing 4 or the guard 5 impinge againstan obstruction. When such the motor bracket swings on the sh i U and isheld by the yieldable interlocking member 11 so that the motor bracketwill re main in its tilted position, clearing the ob struction, untilagain restored to normal po sition. This may be quickly accomplished byoperating a cam lever 17 pivotally connected to the outer end of themember it and bearing a ainst the arm 9, as best shown in Fig. 3. y swin'ng the cam lever 17 upwardly the inter ocking member ii is re tracted,thereby releasin the head or member 14 and permitting the motor toassume normal position by gravity. The normal or vertical position ofthe motor may be defined by a. stop 18 carried by the boat bracket andadapted to be engaged by the frame 12, as shown in Fig. 1.

My next improvement is a novel steering mechanism for the rudder post 8.Jour naled in the arms of the boat bracket is a transverse shaft 19having a hand piece 20 and said shaft and its hand piece constitute arotatable member having its outer ends provided with spools or drums 21.Attached to the spools 21 and wound in opposite directions thereon arecables or flexible members 22 which extend rearwardly and are attachedto the ends of the cross head 23 on the upper end of the rudder post 8.It is now ap arent that by rocking or rotating the she t 19 the rudderpost 8 may be turned to swing the rudder 7 in a desired direction. Therotatable member orhand piece 20 is in proximity to the motor 1 and doesnot occupy valuable space in the hull of the boat. It permits of a boatoperator placing his back to the motor and with one hand behind the backengaging the hand piece 20 the boat may be steered; this being adistinct advantage forthe convenience of a boat operator whichcontributes to the pleasure of other occupants of the boat.

It is thought that the utility of my imrovement will be apparent withoutfurther description, and while in the drawing there is illustrated apreferred embodiment of each improvement it is to be understood that thestructural elements are susceptible to such changes in size, shape andmanner of assemblage as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:-

1. The combination of a boat bracket, 8.

direction relative to said heat bracket, said means holding said motorbracket to its swung position, and means coaxial of said members adaptedfor shifting one of said members to release slid motor bracket from anadjusted position.

2. The combination of a boat bracket, a motor supporting bracket, andco-axially interlocking snap in and out members ada ted to hold saidmotor bracket at any angl; to which it may be swung.

3. In an outboard motor wherein themotor is supported from a boat withthe propellet in a. position liable to encounter obstacles, means forsupporting such motor so that it may yield when the propeller encountersan obstacle, said means including interlocking releasable members whichhold the motor at any position to which it may be swung by its ropellerencountering an 0bstacle, one 0 said interlocking members being fixedrelative to the motor and adapted to rotate relative to the other memberwhich is movable in a lateral direction from said rotatable member.

4. An outboard motor adapted to be pivotally connected to a boat,interlocking mem' bers at the pivot of the motor and adapted to holdsaid motor in an adjusted position, one of said members being yieldablyheld relative to another'member and. ads. ted to release said motor froma. shifted position.

5. The combination of a motor, support ing means for said motor so thatit may tilt, and co-axial serrated heads adapted to hold the motor toany position to which it may be tilted.

6. The combination of a rudder post, a cross head on the upper end ofsaid post, a boat bracket, a rotatable member iournaled in said boatbracket, spools on the ends of said rotatable member, flexible membersconnected to the ends of said cross head and reversely wound on thespools of said rotatable inember and means to facilitate rotatin saidmember.

in testimon whereof I aflix my signature in presence 0 two witnesses.

WILLIAM F. A. BTTEHNER.

Witnesses:

KARL H. BUTLER, G. E. MOG'RANN.

